Recommended Posts

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is generating a lot of excitement and some Dodge dealers are beginning to take deposits for it. One issue though, dealers don't have information on pricing or instructions on how to order one which could mean that you might not end up with one.

"Technically, no one should be taking any deposits. They can't physically take an order, and they shouldn't be taking any deposits," said Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger car brands at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to Roadshow.

The reason why? Kuniskis says "we haven't given the dealers the allocation methodology, the allocation numbers or opened up the order banks yet."

There is also precedent for Kuniskis' warning. When Dodge was readying to launch the Challenger Hellcar, many dealers took deposits on the model without knowing how many they would receive. The end result was some people not getting a Hellcat.

"They're much more careful because of what we went through on Hellcat. Because we had dealers take deposits on Hellcats, they would take 10, 15, 20 deposits, and then they would only ultimately get allocated 5 cars. And then they would have upset customers. So they're being much more -- or at least it appears -- that they're being much more careful this time."

Dodge plans on pricing and ordering information out to dealers by next month.

Similar Content

Mini has been struggling in the U.S. for the past few as more consumers shun small cars. The brand which expected annual sales to total 100,000 vehicles by 2017, peaked at about 66,500 models in 2013 according to Automotive News. Sales through the first ten months of the years have totaled 37,359. This isn't good news for the 127 standalone Mini dealers in the U.S. as it makes it tough for owners to justify the investment. In 2016, 45 percent of Mini dealers reported being unprofitable. A year later, that number rose to 54 percent.
"As a dealer and a manufacturer you have a vision of where the brand is going, and you have to prepare for it. In this case, the vision now isn't what it was when some of these stores were built," explained Jason Willis, a member of the Mini National Dealer Council and general manager of fixed operations at Willis Auto Campus in Des Moines, Iowa.
Mini's parent company, BMW is considering various options to help improve profitability. One of the options on the table is allowing dealers to integrate Mini into their BMW stores. To make sure the brands stand apart, Mini is looking into having a separate showroom with dedicated employees for sales and service.
"We've given a lot of flexibility for the dealers to present ideas. This is to help make sure that, until our next wave of product, and the market becomes more favorable, our dealers each remain a strong and going concern," said Thomas Felbermair, vice president of Mini Region Americas.
But there comes an issue with this idea. Mini has 31 dealers that don't have a BMW dealership that they can integrate into. A spokesman for Mini said they "are looking at additional forms of support for stores that remain fully exclusive," but didn't expand into how they plan on doing that.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Mini has been struggling in the U.S. for the past few as more consumers shun small cars. The brand which expected annual sales to total 100,000 vehicles by 2017, peaked at about 66,500 models in 2013 according to Automotive News. Sales through the first ten months of the years have totaled 37,359. This isn't good news for the 127 standalone Mini dealers in the U.S. as it makes it tough for owners to justify the investment. In 2016, 45 percent of Mini dealers reported being unprofitable. A year later, that number rose to 54 percent.
"As a dealer and a manufacturer you have a vision of where the brand is going, and you have to prepare for it. In this case, the vision now isn't what it was when some of these stores were built," explained Jason Willis, a member of the Mini National Dealer Council and general manager of fixed operations at Willis Auto Campus in Des Moines, Iowa.
Mini's parent company, BMW is considering various options to help improve profitability. One of the options on the table is allowing dealers to integrate Mini into their BMW stores. To make sure the brands stand apart, Mini is looking into having a separate showroom with dedicated employees for sales and service.
"We've given a lot of flexibility for the dealers to present ideas. This is to help make sure that, until our next wave of product, and the market becomes more favorable, our dealers each remain a strong and going concern," said Thomas Felbermair, vice president of Mini Region Americas.
But there comes an issue with this idea. Mini has 31 dealers that don't have a BMW dealership that they can integrate into. A spokesman for Mini said they "are looking at additional forms of support for stores that remain fully exclusive," but didn't expand into how they plan on doing that.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Since becoming the CEO of Ford, Jim Hackett, and his management staff has had a difficult time of convincing folks about the ambitious restructuring plan that will see the lineup become more dependent on crossover and trucks, and job cuts. One group that has been quite worried about the plan are dealers.
"There's been a lot less exposure to senior management. There's just not enough information flowing down to dealers about where the company's headed," said Jack Madden, owner of Jack Madden Ford to Automotive News.
Ford is hoping to ease dealers later this week at the company's national dealer meeting in Las Vegas. Aside from seeing a number of new products, including the next-generation Escape and Explorer, Hackett and his team will be taking questions from dealers about the future direction of the company.
"It's the right medicine at the right time," Rhett Ricart, CEO of Ricart Automotive Group in Groveport, Ohio.
"I think it will be a huge jolt for dealers' attitudes."
Dealers aren't the only group who are wanting more information. Ford's 70,000 salaried workers around the world have been told that the $11 billion restructuring plan will include job cuts, but not providing any specifics on numbers or how or when the cuts will take place. The cuts were announced in a video message sent to employees.
"In Ford's history, we have streamlined organizations but we rarely removed work, causing each team member to have to do more with less," Hackett said in the video, according to a transcript Ford provided to AN. Employees were told the upcoming changes would be made using "a cascading process that will involve many of you" and that they will work to eliminate "low-value" tasks.
"While redesigning the organization is important and it's necessary work, it's not going to be easy. But it is fundamental to us becoming the business we need to be," said Hackett.
Ford say the message wasn't about job cuts and "said employees have appreciated the way it is handling the news." But AN reports that some employees became confused with the message being provided. Some experts say giving employees information about impending job cuts early on allows for more preparation and gives more time to look for another job. But some point out the way Ford announced the move could actually damage morale.
"In an absence of any information, it's stressful. People are going to be looking for more direction from the company," explained Carol Olsby, a human-resources consultant and author.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Since becoming the CEO of Ford, Jim Hackett, and his management staff has had a difficult time of convincing folks about the ambitious restructuring plan that will see the lineup become more dependent on crossover and trucks, and job cuts. One group that has been quite worried about the plan are dealers.
"There's been a lot less exposure to senior management. There's just not enough information flowing down to dealers about where the company's headed," said Jack Madden, owner of Jack Madden Ford to Automotive News.
Ford is hoping to ease dealers later this week at the company's national dealer meeting in Las Vegas. Aside from seeing a number of new products, including the next-generation Escape and Explorer, Hackett and his team will be taking questions from dealers about the future direction of the company.
"It's the right medicine at the right time," Rhett Ricart, CEO of Ricart Automotive Group in Groveport, Ohio.
"I think it will be a huge jolt for dealers' attitudes."
Dealers aren't the only group who are wanting more information. Ford's 70,000 salaried workers around the world have been told that the $11 billion restructuring plan will include job cuts, but not providing any specifics on numbers or how or when the cuts will take place. The cuts were announced in a video message sent to employees.
"In Ford's history, we have streamlined organizations but we rarely removed work, causing each team member to have to do more with less," Hackett said in the video, according to a transcript Ford provided to AN. Employees were told the upcoming changes would be made using "a cascading process that will involve many of you" and that they will work to eliminate "low-value" tasks.
"While redesigning the organization is important and it's necessary work, it's not going to be easy. But it is fundamental to us becoming the business we need to be," said Hackett.
Ford say the message wasn't about job cuts and "said employees have appreciated the way it is handling the news." But AN reports that some employees became confused with the message being provided. Some experts say giving employees information about impending job cuts early on allows for more preparation and gives more time to look for another job. But some point out the way Ford announced the move could actually damage morale.
"In an absence of any information, it's stressful. People are going to be looking for more direction from the company," explained Carol Olsby, a human-resources consultant and author.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

FCA US Reports June 2018 Sales
FCA reports best June retail sales in 14 years
Jeep® brand reports its best month of June sales ever, up 19 percent
Ram Truck brand posts best June sales ever, up 6 percent
Jeep Cherokee reports best month of sales ever, up 89 percent
July 3, 2018 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC today reported June 2018 sales of 202,264 vehicles, an 8 percent increase compared with sales in June 2017 of 187,348 vehicles.

Overall sales were bolstered by both the Jeep® and Ram Truck brands, which reported significant increases for the month. FCA retail sales came in at 155,208, marking the best June sales since 2004 when sales reached 155,663 vehicles. Fleet accounted for 23 percent of total sales, a 1 percent decline from the previous year.

Jeep Brand
Jeep brand notched its best month of June sales ever with 86,989 vehicles sold compared with 73,153 in June 2017. Driving the results were the Cherokee, Compass and Wrangler nameplates. Cherokee and Compass sales nearly doubled, with Cherokee reporting 22,433 vehicle sales compared with 11,895 in June 2017. Compass sales were 15,142 compared with 8,311 in June 2017. Wrangler sales increased to 23,110 vehicles compared with 18,839 in June 2017.

Ram Truck Brand
Ram Truck brand scored a variety of records as sales increased 6 percent to 51,729 vehicles, making it the best June sales ever. Ram brand retail sales also had their best June ever, rising 4 percent to 36,750. Driving the increase was Light-Duty pickup truck retail sales, which rose 11 percent to 24,036 vehicles. Total sales of the Ram ProMaster van nearly doubled to 6,996 vehicles.

Chrysler Brand
Chrysler brand total sales declined 32 percent in June to 13,484 vehicles compared with June of the previous year.

Alfa Romeo Brand
Alfa Romeo brand sales of 2,249 vehicles were up significantly compared with the same month a year ago. Stelvio led the brand with 1,231 vehicle sales, followed by Giulia at 979 vehicles.